Is it possible that sports betting can delay London’s NFL Expansion?

London already hosts three regular in-season NFL games annually and currently expecting a team to relocate there soon. The league may find the daily fantasy sports a cumbersome issue to deal with since it has been under increasing scrutiny with the root issue being sports betting. It is legal in the U.K but there are restrictions in the U.S. The daily fantasy sports such as Draftkings and Fan Duelare causing the problem since in most states they are considered to be games of skill and not gambling and have been left out in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The act exempts the daily fantasy sports from ban in the U.S due to excessive lobbying by the NF|L. the NFL has been against gambling for a long time fearing compromise of the real games as well as the league growing to full potential.

Draftkings is the advertising company for NFL at Wembley and it is considered a gambling company and requires a license under the U.K law. They therefore have to adhere to the warning that they are only allowed to advertise to the fans in the U.K. only the giant screens provided for replays can advertise it. It ensures that the U.S fans watching won’t see the logos and adverts belonging to Draftkings. This means that NFL will be able to create some space between the company and the daily fantasy sports as an industry. Despite this, other leagues such as the Major Leagues baseball have invested in the company openly together with its all time rival, Edinburgh-based Fan Duel. This commotion has proved to be a problem and hampers all the NFL plans to expand into London which they anticipate as the intended growth they see for their company and the industry in terms of the audience and the revenues. The fans that are based in the U.K can freely and openly bet on their favorite teams playing in the U.K but has to be done with a regulator who will enforce the laws the gambling license will hold. The industry has since been unregulated pending the increased scrutiny from the U.S.

This article is published in: Sports Betting
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